Written by Harlan Howard in 1959
Recorded by Johnny Cash in 1968.
There's a lot of strange men in cellblock ten
But the strangest of them all
Was a friend of mine who spent his time
Staring at the wall
Staring at the wall
He looked at the wall
So strong and tall
You could hear him softly curse
“Nobody, I'm told, has ever climbed that wall
But I'm gonna be the first.
I'm gonna be the first.”
The warder went by and said
“Son, don't try. I'd hate to see you fall.
'Cuz there ain't no doubt that they'll carry you out
If you ever touch that wall.
Don't ever touch that wall.”
A year's gone by
Since he made his try
But I can still recall
How hard he tried and the way he died
But he never made that wall
He never made that wall
There ain't never been a man ever shook this can
But I know a man who tried
The newspapers called it a jailbreak plan
But I know it was suicide
I know it was suicide\